Courses of Study

Sections

An interdepartmental program in Religious Studies

Last updated: August 22, 2011 at 10:53 a.m.

Objectives

The modern field of religious studies contributes significantly to a liberal arts education, cultivating the investigation of religious thought, ritual, spiritual insight, culture, history, and sacred texts. The Program for Religious Studies is designed to deepen each student’s understanding of religion and its manifestations through required interdepartmental exploration: surveying systematic approaches to the field (REL 107a) and completing courses in at least two different religious traditions. This approach exposes students to several scholarly and pedagogical perspectives in a variety of religious phenomena, often in a comparative context.

The program fosters interaction between its faculty and students by requiring completion of either an independent study or a senior essay course. The university, with its commitment to ethical responsibility, and the wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds represented in its student body, provides a unique context for examining religion with open-minded curiosity and sympathetic understanding.

Learning Goals

The modern field of religious studies is an important part of a liberal arts education, allowing for the study of religious thought, ritual, culture, history and texts, often in a comparative context. At Brandeis, there has long been a fine program in Judaic studies, but students here felt a need to consider other religious traditions as well. The program in Religious Studies was therefore initiated by a group of students seeking to expand the range of religious studies courses at Brandeis in order to deepen their understanding of a multitude of religions and their manifestations through the perspectives of different disciplines and departments.

The goal of the Program in Religious Studies (PRS) is to expose students to different scholarly and pedagogical approaches to a variety of religious teachings. For example, the study of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam will bring great depth to one’s understanding of the historical development of individual traditions during a given epoch, as well as of the related art, literature, and politics of the societies practicing these religions. Similarly studies in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism will provide deeper appreciation not only of the relevant texts, but also of East-West cultural encounters and fundamental topics such as enlightenment and the possibility of rebirth.

In this program, which is currently available only as a minor, students survey a variety of approaches to religious studies in an introductory core course (REL 107a), which provides an overview of the range of possible religions. This course serves as an extremely important basis for the subsequent studies in religion. Students must also complete courses in at least two different religious traditions. These traditions currently include Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students must also complete two elective courses from a list of specified courses which complement these traditions. Some students choose, in addition, to do an independent study in a particular area that is not covered by the available courses. Students can also write a senior honors thesis as approved by the chair of the program.

Core Skills: As an interdisciplinary program, PRS helps its students to gain a broad understanding of religions, the peoples who practice them, and their modes of belief, particularly of those religions outside the student’s usual experience. Students analyze texts, histories, and the ways in which human beings have understood their world as reflected in their beliefs, ethics, rituals, artifacts, and organizations of religions. Students also investigate the changing relationships between religion and elements of the wider culture, and learn the theories and methods used in the study of religion.

Knowledge: The exposure to a wide range of religions often opens whole new fields of inquiry to the student: some extend their studies into languages, literature, history, law, and even the sciences. The Program in Religious Studies, through its unique and dynamic interdepartmental course work, strives to deliver a deep understanding of the multi-faceted nature of religion.

After Brandeis: Some students continue their study of religion after graduating, in seminaries, in graduate programs, or in other related programs. For others, it remains an experience that deepens their education at Brandeis and enriches their work in other fields.

How to Become a Minor

Ideally a mapping out of an academic plan with the current Program for Religious Studies chair would occur early in a student’s career; leading them to fulfill the core course, REL 107a or one of its alternative courses (NEJS 3a and ANTH 80a) by the completion of their Sophomore year. This “ideal” scenario is not required, however; and students are welcome to enter the program at any point as long as they are able to complete all degree requirements in a timely fashion. Students gaining an early start in fulfilling PRS requirements are obviously better able to maximize course selection, as a number of courses are not offered annually.

Requirements for the Minor

A. Core course: REL 107a (Introduction to World Religions). With permission of the chair, ANTH 80a, NEJS 3a, or SOC 129a may be taken instead of REL 107a.

B. Students must complete at least two courses covering at least two different religious traditions from the traditions courses listed below. REL 151a and 161a may count towards this requirement.

C. Students must complete at least two courses from the list of electives listed below. REL 121a and 131b may count towards this requirement.

D. A Senior Essay (REL 97a or b) may replace one of the two electives with the approval of the program chair.

E. A passing letter grade must be obtained in each course taken for program credit. Pass/fail courses are not allowed. Students must achieve a GPA of at least 2.0 (C) in all program courses.

Courses of Instruction

Courses of Instruction

REL
97a
Senior Essay
Usually offered every year.Staff

REL
97b
Senior Essay
Usually offered every year.Staff

REL
98a
Independent Study
Usually offered every year.Staff

REL
98b
Independent Study
Usually offered every year.Staff

REL
107a
Introduction to World Religions
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hum
nw
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An introduction to the study of religion; this core course surveys and broadly explores some of the major religions across the globe.Staff

REL
121a
Mysticism and the Moral Life
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hum
wi
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The lives and writings of Jewish, Roman Catholic, and African American protestant mystics who exemplify connections between the inner life of prayer, the encounter with God, and social action. Special focus on Heschel, Merton, Thurman, Teresa of Avila, and others. Usually offered every third year. Mr. Kaplan

REL
131b
The Dynamics of Religious Experience
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hum
]
A comparative study of religious experience, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, nonbiblical, and feminist responses to modern anguish and the quest for identity and absolute meaning. Topics include doubt, sin, conversion, prayer, mysticism, holiness, and social action. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Kaplan

REL
151a
The Buddha: His Life and Teachings
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hum
nw
]
Few human beings have had as much impact on the world as Siddhartha Gotama Shakyamuni, known to us as Buddha. This course explores his life and teachings as reflected in early Buddhist literature and Western scholarship. Usually offered every year.Staff

REL
161a
Chinese Religion and Thought: Understanding Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism)
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hum
nw
]
This course aims at widening and deepening students' knowledge of world religions by introducing to them distinctive Chinese religions and schools of thought with emphasis on two most significant ones, namely, Confucianism and Taoism. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Feng

Religious Studies: Traditions Courses

The following courses are approved for the program. Not all are given in any one year. Please consult with Schedule of Classes each semester.

ANTH
80a
Anthropology of Religion
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nw
ss
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An introduction to the anthropological study of human religious experience, with particular emphasis on religious and ritual practice in comparative perspective. Examines the relationship between religion and society in small-scale, non-Western contexts as well as in complex societies, global cultures, and world historical religions. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

CLAS
170a
Classical Mythology
[
hum
]
An introduction to Greek and Roman mythology. Considers ancient song cultures, and the relationship between myth, drama, and religion. Also explores visual representations of myth. Usually offered every second year. Mr. Muellner

HIST
181a
Seminar on Traditional Chinese Thought
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nw
ss
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Social, historical, and political theory is one of China's greatest contributions to world civilization. Studies the most influential schools (Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, and Legalism) through the reading and discussion of original texts. Usually offered every second year.Staff

IMES
104a
Islam: Civilization and Institutions
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hum
nw
]
Provides a disciplined study of Islamic civilization from its origins to the current state of affairs. Approaches the study from a humanities perspective. Topics covered will include the Qur'an, tradition, law, theology, politics, Islam and other religions, modern developments, women in Islam, and Islam and Middle Eastern politics. Usually offered every second year.Staff

NEJS
3a
Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
[
hum
]
An introduction to the three major religions originating in the Near East: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Areas of focus include historical development, sacred texts, rituals, and interpretive traditions. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Decter

NEJS
5a
Foundational Course in Judaic Studies
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hum
]
A survey of the Jewish experience and thought, focusing on the varieties of historical Judaism, including its classical forms, its medieval patterns and transformations, and its modern options. Usually offered every year.Mr. Kimelman

NEJS
9a
The World of the Ancient Near East
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hum
]
An introduction to the peoples, history, religions, institutions, and culture of ancient Mesopotamia, Syria, Israel, Anatolia, and Egypt from prehistory to 330 BCE. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Wright

NEJS
111a
The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
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hum
wi
]
Open to all students.A survey of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Biblical books will be examined from various perspectives and compared to other ancient Near Eastern compositions. No knowledge of Hebrew is presumed. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Brettler

NEJS
114b
Ritual and Cult in the Bible
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hum
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Prerequisite: HBRW 122a or b, NEJS 10a, or permission of the instructor.A study of ritual and cultic texts of the Bible in Hebrew and their rites and phenomena with historical-critical, Near Eastern-environmental, social-scientific, and literary analysis. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Wright

NEJS
116a
Ancient Near Eastern Religion and Mythology
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hum
nw
]
Open to all students.An introduction to the religion, mythology, and thought of the ancient Near East. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Abusch

NEJS
128a
Introduction to Christianity
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hum
]
Open to all students.An introduction to Christian beliefs, liturgy, and history. Surveys the largest world religion: from Ethiopian to Korean Christianity, from black theology to the Christian right. Analyzes Christian debates about God, Christ, and human beings. Studies differences among Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. Usually offered every year.Ms. Brooten

NEJS
130a
The New Testament: A Historical Introduction
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hum
]
Open to all students.A study of the main parts of the New Testament, with emphasis on the contents of the books and the historical development of early Christianity. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Brooten

NEJS
186a
Introduction to the Qur'an
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hum
nw
]
Traces the history of the Qur'an as text, its exegesis, and its role in inter-religious polemics, law, theology, and politics. Examines the role of the Qur'an in modern Islamic movements. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Lumbard

REL
151a
The Buddha: His Life and Teachings
[
hum
nw
]
Few human beings have had as much impact on the world as Siddhartha Gotama Shakyamuni, known to us as Buddha. This course explores his life and teachings as reflected in early Buddhist literature and Western scholarship. Usually offered every year.Staff

REL
161a
Chinese Religion and Thought: Understanding Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism)
[
hum
nw
]
This course aims at widening and deepening students' knowledge of world religions by introducing to them distinctive Chinese religions and schools of thought with emphasis on two most significant ones, namely, Confucianism and Taoism. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Feng

Religious Studies: Elective Courses

The following courses are approved for the program. Not all are given in any one year. Please consult with Schedule of Classes each semester.

AMST
50b
Religion in American Life
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ss
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May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 167b in prior years.Considers the historical influence of religious belief on various aspects of American political, cultural, legal, and economic life. Topics include the use and effectiveness of religious language in political rhetoric, from the American Revolution to the War in Iraq; the role that religious belief has played in galvanizing and frustrating various reform movements; and the debate over the proper role of religion in the public square. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Farrelly

AMST
168b
American Religious History
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ss
wi
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Charts the origins and development of the various--and primarily Judeo-Christian--religious movements that have shaped and been shaped by the American experience. Topics include the origins of the "Bible Belt," the religious debate over slavery, the black church in America, the social gospel, and the difference between fundamentalism and evangelicalism. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Farrelly

ANTH
105a
Myth and Ritual
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nw
ss
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Studies myth and ritual as two interlocking modes of cultural symbolism. Evaluates theoretical approaches to myth by looking at creation and political myths. Examines performative, processual, and spatial models of ritual analysis through study of initiation, sacrifice, and funerals. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH
137b
Gender and the Sacred in Asia
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ss
]
Ritual, violence, gender, religion, and cultural creativity in Asia, especially East Asia and South Asia. Religious movements, sacrifice and patriliny, and the ritualization of state power through religious imagery and institutions. Roles of religious leaders and spiritual movements in conflict resolution and peacemaking. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Schattschneider

CLAS
190b
Ancient Mysteries, Cults, and Myths
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hum
]
An investigation of the phenomenon of the ancient mystery cults as preserved in the surviving art and literature of antiquity. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Johnston

COML
179a
Life Stories, Spiritual and Profane
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hum
]
Examines modern life stories (such as biographies, autobiographies, journals, fiction) concerning personal identity in relation to the search for God, mysticism and anguish, conversion, moral action, and intimate love. Augustine's Confessions and Teresa of Avila's Life provide models for contemprary writers such as Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day. Usually offered every third year. Mr. Kaplan

ENG
78b
Modernism, Atheism, God
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hum
]
Explores European and American literature after Nietzche's proclamation, at the end of the 19th century, that God is dead. How does this writing imagine human life and the role of literature in God's absence? How does it imagine afterlives of God, and permutations of the sacred, in a post-religious world? How, or why, to have faith in the possibility of faith in a secular age? What does "the secular" actually mean, and how does it persuade itself that it's different than "the religious". Approaches international modernism as a political and theological debate about materialism and spirituality, finitude and transcendence, reason and salvation. Readings by Kafka, Joyce, Rilke, Faulkner, Eliot, Beckett, Pynchon, and others. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Sherman

ENG
108a
Literature and Heresy
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hum
]
A study of major texts of British literature through the lens of religious heresy. Does literature provide a refuge for heresy? Or is there something about literature that encourages heretical thinking? These questions are considered in light of dissident works by Milton, Blake, Shelley, James Hogg, and others. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Quinney

FA
33b
Islamic Art and Architecture
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ca
nw
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May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 39b in prior years.Introduces architecture and arts of the Islamic lands from seventh-century Levant to post-modernism in Iran, India, and the Gulf states. Provides an overview of major themes and regional variations, and their socio-political and historical context. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Grigor

FA
42b
The Age of Cathedrals
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ca
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Architecture, sculpture, and painting (including stained glass) in Western Europe from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, with particular attention to the great churches of medieval France. Usually offered every second year.Mr. McClendon

FA
145a
St. Peter's and the Vatican
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ca
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May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 45a in prior years.The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every second year.Mr. McClendon

FA
170a
Arts of the Ming Dynasty
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ca
nw
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 15b in prior years.Examines a broad array of arts from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The first half of the course focuses on activities in and around the Chinese court. The second half concentrates on monuments related to literati and popular cultures. Usually offered every three years.Ms. Wong

FA
171b
Buddhist Art
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ca
nw
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May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 13b in prior years.The history of Buddhist art on the Silk Road. Usually offered every second year. Ms. Wong

FREN
147a
Jewish Identities in France since 1945
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fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.After the Holocaust, French thinkers such as Sartre, Levinas, and Memmi provided a foundation for reconstructing Jewish life. Topics include assimilation, Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews, Muslim, black, and Jewish identity, the role of women, secularism, ethics, and religious faith. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Kaplan.

HIST
110b
The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages
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ss
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Survey of European history from 1000 to 1450. Topics include the Crusades, the birth of towns, the creation of kingdoms, the papacy, the peasantry, the universities, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' War. Usually offered every second year. Mr. Kapelle

HIST
123b
Reformation Europe (1400-1600)
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ss
wi
]
Survey of Protestant and Catholic efforts to reform religion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Topics include scholastic theology, popular piety and anticlericalism, Luther's break with Rome, the rise of Calvinism, Henry VIII and the English Reformation, the Catholic resurgence, and the impact of reform efforts on the lives of common people. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Sreenivasan

HIST
126a
Early Modern Europe (1500-1700)
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qr
ss
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Survey of politics, ideas, and society in Western Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Focuses on the changing relationship between the emerging modern state and its subjects. Topics include the development of ideologies of resistance and conformity, regional loyalties and the problems of empire, changing technologies of war and repression, and the social foundations of order and disorder. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Sreenivasan

HIST
148a
Religion and Society in Modern Russia
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ss
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Examines the role of religion, institutional and popular, in the social, political, and cultural development of Russia from the eighteenth century to the present. Usually offered every fourth year.Mr. Freeze

HIST
152b
Salem, 1692
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ss
wi
]
An in-depth investigation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 and their role in American culture during the last 300 years. Focusing on gender, religion, law, and psychology, the class explores primary sources as well as films, plays, and novels. Students will also conduct field research in Salem. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Kamensky

HUM
10a
The Western Canon
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hum
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May not be taken by students who have taken FYS 18a in prior years.Foundational texts of the Western canon: the Bible, Homer, Vergil, and Dante. Thematic emphases and supplementary texts vary from year to year. Staff

IECS
140a
Dante's Divine Comedy
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hum
]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.A close study of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso as a symbolic vision of reality reflecting the culture and the political, philosophical, and theological thought of the Middle Ages. Readings to include the Vita Nuova, the Aeneid (Bk. 6), and selections from the Bible, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and St. Thomas' Summa Theologicae. Usually offered every second year. Mr. Lansing

LAT
125a
Medieval Latin
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fl
hum
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Surveys medieval Latin prose and poetry from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries and their influence on subsequent English, French, and Italian literature. Materials will be studied in the original Latin and English. Offered on request.Ms. Johnston or Ms. Walker

NEJS
103a
The Early History of God
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hum
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A study of the development of the conceptions about deity in the Levant before the appearance of ancient Israel and the development of these conception in Israelite/biblical religion, including the origins of monotheism. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Wright

NEJS
112a
The Book of Genesis
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hum
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Prerequisite: HBRW 122a or b, NEJS 10a, or permission of the instructor.An in-depth study of the Hebrew text of Genesis, with particular attention to the meaning, documentary sources, and Near Eastern background of the accounts of creation and origins of human civilization in chapters one to eleven, and of the patriarchal narratives, especially those about Abraham. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Abusch

NEJS
115a
The Book of Deuteronomy
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hum
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Prerequisite: NEJS 10a or a strong knowledge of biblical Hebrew.A close examination of the prose and poetry of the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy with special attention to its religious, legal, and compositional features. Traditions found in the Book of Deuteronomy will be compared with their counterparts elsewhere in the Torah. The place of the Book of Deuteronomy in the history of the religion of Israel will be considered. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Brettler

NEJS
115b
Gender and the Bible
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hum
]
Open to all students.The Hebrew Bible, a complex work, reflects a wide range of attitudes toward gender. This course examines these attitudes as they are reflected in issues such as the legal status of women, women in myths, leadership, prostitution, masculinity, and the gender of ancient Israel's deity. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Brettler

NEJS
122a
Magic and Witchcraft in the Ancient Near East
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hum
nw
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Examines magical literature, rituals, and beliefs in the ancient Near East, especially Mesopotamia. Topics such as demonology, illness, prayer, and exorcism are covered; special attention is paid to witchcraft. This course is organized around the close reading of ancient texts. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Abusch

NEJS
127b
The Jewish Liturgy
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hum
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Prerequisite: A 20-level Hebrew course or the equivalent.A study of the literature, theology, and history of the daily and Sabbath liturgy. Emphasis will be placed on the interplay between literary structure and ideational content, along with discussion of the philosophical issues involved in prayer. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Kimelman

NEJS
144a
Jews in the World of Islam
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hum
nw
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Examines social and cultural history of Jewish communities in the Islamic world. Special emphasis is placed on the pre-modern Jewish communities. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Decter

NEJS
148b
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Jews and Christians: Sources and Interpretations
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hum
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Introduction to the classical Jewish and Christian sources on same-sex love and on gender ambiguity and to a variety of current interpretations of them, to the evidence for same-sex love and gender fluidity among Jews and Christians through the centuries, and to current religious and public policy debates about same-sex love and gender identity and expression. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Brooten

NEJS
159a
Modern Jewish Philosophy
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hum
]
Surveys the contours of modern Jewish philosophy by engaging some of its most important themes and voices. Competing Jewish inflections of and responses to rationalism, romanticism, idealism, existentialism, and nihilism. This provides the conceptual road signs of the course as we traverse the winding byways of Jewish philosophy from Baruch Spinoza to Emanuel Levinas. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Sheppard

NEJS
162a
American Judaism
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hum
ss
wi
]
American Judaism from the earliest settlement to the present, with particular emphasis on the various streams of American Judaism. Judaism's place in American religion and comparisons to Judaism in other countries. Usually offered every year.Mr. Sarna

NEJS
163a
Jewish-Christian Relations in America
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hum
ss
]
A topical approach to the history of Jewish-Christian relations in America from the colonial period to the present. Usually offered every fourth year.Mr. Sarna

NEJS
164a
Judaism Confronts America
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hum
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Examines, through a close reading of selected primary sources, central issues and tensions in American Jewish life, paying attention to their historical background and to issues of Jewish law. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Sarna

NEJS
166b
Who is a Jew? Identity, Conversion, and Citizenship
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hum
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Examines the dynamics of conversion to and from Judaism from the rabbinic period to the present. Themes include the construction of identity, the place of the convert in the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds, intermarriage and family, as well as social and legal dilemmas. Usually offered every year.Ms. Freeze

NEJS
175b
Responses to the Holocaust in Literature
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hum
]
The Holocaust has generated a rich and varied body of literary representations of this crucial event in modern history. This course studies significant examples of such representations, dwelling on their historical, cultural, and psychological aspects. The aesthetic and moral problems of representation are raised in each case. Authors examined include Wiesel, Levi, Appelfeld, Spiegelman, Celan, and Pagis. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Sheppard

NEJS
186b
The Quran: Composition, Collection, and Commentary
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hum
]
Prerequisites: IMES 104a or NEJS 186a or permission of the instructor.Examines the historical development and collection of the Quran, and the emergence of the different schools of Quranic commentary within various branches of Islam and the central themes upon which they focus. Emphasis is placed upon the guiding principles of Quranic commentary and the way in which they give rise to a hermeneutical tradition that is particular to Islam. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Lumbard

NEJS
190b
Islamic Philosophy
[
hum
]
Prerequisite: IMES 104a or NEJS 186a or a course on Islam.An examination of the development and teachings of the Islamic philosophical tradition, covering its development from the Greek philosophical tradition and in response to Islamic teachings, and the relationship between Islamic philosophy and theology up to the Safavid period. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Lumbard

NEJS
191a
Introduction to Islamic Theology
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hum
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An introduction to Islamic theology and intellectual tradition. After studying the formative period of the Prophet Mohammad's life, students examine the development of law, doctrines, beliefs, philosophy, and the diversity of thought in Islamic tradition. Usually offered every second year. Staff

NEJS
191b
Messianism and the State of Israel
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hum
]
Messianism is an important component in Jewish history. This course examines the messianic idea as a religious, political, and sociological phenomenon in modern Jewish history. Examining how the messianic narrative entered Jewish political discourse enables a critical discussion of its role in Zionist activities as an example of continuity or discontinuity with an older tradition. Usually offered every year.Staff

NEJS
194b
Sufi Teachings
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hum
nw
]
An examination of the teaching and practices of the Sufi tradition. Explores the foundations of Sufism, its relation to other aspects of Islam and the development of Sufi teachings in both poetry and prose. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Lumbard

NEJS
196a
Marriage, Divorce, and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law
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hum
nw
]
Using law to understand Islamic gender discourses and Muslim women's lives, the class addresses broad areas where law and gender intersect jurisprudential method and classical doctrines; women's use of courts to settle disputes; and contemporary debates over legal reforms. Usually offered every fourth year.Staff

PHIL
24a
Philosophy of Religion
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hum
]
An introduction to the major philosophical problems of religion. Discusses traditional arguments for and against the existence of God, the nature of faith and mystical experiences, the relation of religion to morality, and puzzles about the concept of God. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Hirsch

PHIL
146a
Idea of God
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hum
]
Prerequisite: PHIL 1a or PHIL 66b or one course numbered PHIL 35a through PHIL 38b.Engages in a philosophical investigation, not of religion as an institution but of the very idea of God. Studies the distinction between human being and divine being and addresses the issue of the relation of God's essence to his existence. Usually offered every second year. Mr. Yourgrau

PHIL
178b
Major Figures in the Christian Faith
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hum
]
Prerequisite: PHIL 1a.Presents the important theological contributions of the major thinkers of the Western Church, covering the modern period. Usually offered every fourth year.Mr. Yourgrau

POL
145b
The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe and the United States
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ss
]
Few issues have caused more public furor than the accommodation of Islam in Europe and the United States. It is often overlooked that Muslims are developing the institutions of their faith in societies that offer everyone the freedom of choice and expression. This seminar looks at religious discrimination as a barrier to the civic and political inclusion of Muslim immigrants, the responses of governments, courts, and the general public, and what we know about the balance among "fundamentalist, " "moderate," and "progressive" Muslim viewpoints. Usually offered every year.Ms. Klausen

REL
121a
Mysticism and the Moral Life
[
hum
wi
]
The lives and writings of Jewish, Roman Catholic, and African American protestant mystics who exemplify connections between the inner life of prayer, the encounter with God, and social action. Special focus on Heschel, Merton, Thurman, Teresa of Avila, and others. Usually offered every third year. Mr. Kaplan

REL
131b
The Dynamics of Religious Experience
[
hum
]
A comparative study of religious experience, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, nonbiblical, and feminist responses to modern anguish and the quest for identity and absolute meaning. Topics include doubt, sin, conversion, prayer, mysticism, holiness, and social action. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Kaplan

SOC
128a
Religion and Globalization
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ss
]
Examines the experience of religion as a global, social and individual marker of identity. Looks into the social-psychology of religious resurgence and new movements (Islamic, Evangelical, occult and others) with special attention paid to the role and character of globalization and its impact on religious activism and consciousness in the world today. Readings cover key comparative models in ongoing contemporary thought and research. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Hayim

SOC
129a
Sociology of Religion
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ss
wi
]
An introduction to the sociological study of religion. Investigates what religion is, how it is influential in contemporary American life, and how the boundaries of public and private religion are constructed and contested. Usually offered every year.Ms. Cadge

WMGS
120b
Women and Gender in Religion
[
hum
]
An analysis of how gender is at the heart of religion and of how women, men, and transgendered persons are transforming religious communities today. The course will include: debates over religious leadership; religious discourse about gendered bodies; sacred texts and religious law; and images of the divine and religious ritual. Usually offered every year.Ms. Brooten and Ms. Langenberg